Daniel Craig Interview

Interview: The Man Behind Bond

Daniel Craig: No, I’m not James Bond. [Laughs] That guy is somebody else. I’m not him.

TIP: AskMen just selected James Bond as the most influential man, over Obama and other real people. What do you think about that?

DC: Well, I hope not. I hope Obama becomes a little more influential. [Laughs] Very nice, I suppose. I mean, maybe that’s because the movie is coming out, so I’m everywhere. And you should thank Sony for that, because their publicist department is pretty good.

TIP: So what is it that you like the most about James Bond’s lifestyle?

DC: I’m not James Bond. The thing is I am really genuinely not him, so therefore, I don’t need any of his lifestyle. I have mine. Really, I mean it’s not something I aspire to be. I don’t have any desire.

TIP: There’s nothing?

DC: No. I love cars. I love the things that everybody else likes, but I don’t want to be James Bond.

TIP: Do you picture James Bond married, settled, with a family?

DC: No, because he’s a spy. Everyone he falls in love with dies.

TIP: James Bond is a really old-fashioned guy. He never touches the internet. Do you think that’s an attractive aspect to young audiences?

DC: I don’t know. We will find out, won’t we? I don’t think it’s that he won’t touch them; I just think that he still sort of believes in an idea that he’s a frontline troop, and the idea that you kind of fight a battle on a computer is anathema to him. But that’s why I love the character of Q, because Q is sort of a geek and a computer whiz, and the two of them coming together, there’s a contrast there. I like the fact that the two of them could be a partnership because I don’t think he wants to know too much about that. He wants to talk to people and look them in the eye and ask them the question, and I like that. I think there’s still room for that. Maybe not.

TIP: This Bond is different because it’s looking back at his roots and how he grew up a little bit. Was that the attraction?

DC: I think in a way. I mean, it wasn’t really a conscious decision, but because it’s 50 years, it really ties in nicely to it, and what I love is also that we go back and he destroys it. So that we kind of move it out of the way and we dealt with it, and he was orphaned very young so that the love of his parents is something in the past, and he’s moved on and the idea that he is kind of satisfied with his life.

TIP: Who is the biggest James Bond fan in your family?

DC: They hate it. [Laughs]

TIP: There’s got to be somebody. There’s always somebody.

DC: They all like it. They all like it a lot. They are big fans of the whole thing, but they are also very happy and proud of what I do, so they are happy that I am doing what I love, more than Bond.